Former Whitworth player Love named Pirates women's coach

SPOKANE — After a national search, Whitworth University promoted former Pirate player Kenny Love to become the school’s next women’s basketball head coach, athletic director Tim Demant announced.

Love has been an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team since 2017. He has been Damion Jablonski’s top assistant since Jablonski was promoted to head coach prior to the 2019-20 season.

Love takes over a Pirate women's team that finished 10-15 overall and 5-11 in the NWC in 2021-22 under previous head coach Joial Griffith, who resigned in March following four seasons at the helm.

Love has been involved in all aspects of the men’s team operation, including scouting, recruiting, budget management, conditioning and summer camp organization.

Whitworth’s men have three NCAA Division III tournament appearances and a record of 102-26 during Love’s five seasons as an assistant coach.

Love was a three-year first team All-Northwest Conference honoree during his playing career at Whitworth. He was a third team All-American and the NWC Player of the Year following his sophomore campaign in 2015. The Pirates advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament during each of his four seasons.

Love will transition into the women’s role immediately.

Bergersen named assistant coach at Boise State after one season at EWU

BOISE — Former Boise State men’s basketball standout Roberto Bergersen, a 2007 inductee into the Boise State Athletic Hall of Fame, has joined the Broncos’ staff as an assistant coach, Broncos coach Leon Rice announced Monday.

Most recently, Bergersen served as an assistant coach at Eastern Washington for the 2021-22 season, joining his son, Rylan, who was playing his senior season for the Eagles. Bergersen helped the Eagles to an 18-16 record, and EWU earned an invitation to The Basketball Classic postseason tournament.

Bergersen returns to his alma mater where he played from 1996-99. During his Bronco career, Bergersen was named the 1999 Big West Conference Player of the Year after averaging 20 points per game and leading Boise State to the 1998-99 Big West regular-season championship his senior season. He was named first-team All-Big West in both 1998 and 1999, and was a national finalist for the 1999 Chip Hilton Player of the Year Award.

The Atlanta Hawks selected Bergersen with the 52nd pick in the 1999 NBA Draft. He spent much of his 11-year career in the Continental Basketball Association/NBA D-League, where he played for the Idaho Stampede. In 2008 he helped the Stampede win the NBA D-League Championship. His No. 11 jersey was retired by the organization and still hangs in the rafters of Idaho Central Arena in Boise. The Washington native also spent time playing in France, Italy, Belgium, Spain and Turkey.

Bergersen is the co-founder of Hoop Dreams Idaho High School Basketball Club, an AAU program based in Boise. He was with the club from 2007-21, helping develop nearly 100 boys and girls that went on to become collegiate players, including 26 at the NCAA Division I level.

In 2017-18, Bergersen took a position as the head men’s prep school basketball coach at Kanakuk Link Year Prep in Branson, Mo. There, he led his team to a CPG National Championship and produced 12 scholarship athletes.

One of Bergersen's three sons, Ryzin, plays basketball at NCAA Division II Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa.